Quote:
Originally Posted by sofocused978
So my question is the following. Do I opt out of the increase and let them close my account in 2011, or do I let them increase my rate and hope to have them lower it with a phone call. I have had this card for almost 10 years and I know that people say to keep your oldest credit lines open. Please give me some advice. I have 2 days to figure out what I am going to do.
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Is it worth it to you to pay a little over double the interest on that $5,000 to keep the card open? If you choose to opt out, it will not drop off your credit report or potentially hurt you until 2021 (closed accounts stay on and count toward your average account age for 10 years after closing). I'd opt-out because in my opinion it's not worth paying extra interest just to keep an account open. On the other hand, it could be worse--I saw a Citi letter this weekend raising a 7.9% fixed to minimum of 24.99%. Ouch.
The letter stipulates that you have until January to opt out, so I don't know where you're getting the 2-day decision deadline. You may have more time than you think.